Shuffling Off
by Semper Vino Veritas
Summary: Let's all be real. Sookie would never have been able to escape vampire politics because life just isn't that neat and tidy. This is the story of Sookie Stackhouse's last day as Mrs. Sam Merlotte. Now being expanded into a full piece.


_I don't own a thing._

* * *

I'll always remember that the sun was particularly lovely on my last day as Mrs. Sam Merlotte.

I'd woken up late. Though I'd beaten Sam, his longer-than-usual hair splayed out on pillowcase, his taunt limbs tangled in his side of the sheets again. I remember that he'd growled a little, twitching in his sleep and I took a quick look. It was cute: he was dreaming of running through the woods in hot pursuit of a rabbit.

The old Stackhouse homestead, now the house I shared with Sam, had seemed extra warm and inviting that late morning. I'd heaved out the well-seasoned cast iron skillet and got to fixing up some bacon, eggs and grits. It had been another late night at Merlotte's, the bar where I'd worked for years and now co-owned. I'd gone from slinging hamburgers to coordinating the wait staff, keeping the inventory and helping out with payroll from time to time. In the minds of most our townsfolk, I'd graduated from a crazy waitress just scraping by to a respected manager. The work was hard, but I felt like for the first time people, other than supes, saw that I valued for my brains.

As I sipped my coffee and stood at the counter, I'd looked out at the lawn. It was high summer, so hot and sticky, but the grass needed mowing and the bushes needed tending. Idly, I'd wondered if Jason might be by with Michele today. They usually brought their babies, Adele and Corbit, to visit on Sundays, but Sam had asked my brother to come over today and chop down one of the tree's in the yard to extend our garden. And, generally these days, where Jason went Michele and the kids followed. I loved my niece and nephew, and now that they were both walking I knew their parents liked to have additional backup.

I was thinking a lot about babies these days. Sam and I had been married for two years now, and he'd slowly but surely been chipping away at my, "no kids" stance. That, and I'd begun to ache something painful for a baby of my own whenever I held Jason's kids. Maybe passing on telepathy wasn't so bad? After all, I seemed to be finally making a way for myself, despite it. Life with Sam was steady, and nice.

My babies. They'd be sweet, with that wonderful baby-powder milk smell. They'd have blond hair, like mine, and blue eyes. Deep blue eyes. I stopped that thought dead in its tracks. It'd been a while since I'd thought of Eric, and even longer since I'd daydreamed about him becoming miraculously human, let alone having his babies. And what was I doing? Thinking of having another man's babies. A man who wasn't my husband. Well damn.

Sometime during my musings, said husband had shuffled downstairs. The scrape of his chair jolted me from my thoughts. By the time I turned to set his coffee down, he'd already dug in, happy as a clam. Sam smiled at me, and I was flooded with a feeling of gratitude that he wasn't a telepath too. I shook off the cobwebs, and took my seat to his right to start on my own plate.

"'Morning," I said. "Think Jason'll bring Michele and the kids over today?"

"Oh, sorry Sook," Sam said after he'd swallowed. "He called over to the bar yesterday to say they'd called him to work double-time today. I think we're rescheduling for next weekend."

"Hmmm." That was too bad. I looked forward to spending time with my brother in a way I hadn't in years. I guess that's par for the course when your unconventional great-grandfathers and third cousins start dying off or leaving your local realm. Come to think of it, apparently I was still missing their company despite the fact that Lord knows I'd had enough to do with fairies to last me two lifetimes. I felt my mood souring despite the warm, brightly colored thoughts Sam was broadcasting and got up to refill our coffee cups. One look back out the window into the glorious day and I felt selfish. I had a good husband, a good family, a good home and a good job. It was wrong not to be thankful for God's gifts. By the time I'd turned back around I'd resolved to work on my attitude in the short term, and being a better Christian in general.

So after we'd eaten, Sam headed to shower and get started on some paperwork in the bedroom I'd formerly used that now served as his office. Assuming he'd leave the grass cutting to later, when it was cooler, I'd spent most of the early afternoon taking advantage of the high sun to work on my tan, followed up with some gardening later. The sun was bright, without a cloud in the sky, and there was a light breeze that helped keep me cool. I could hear the leaves in the trees gently shifting in the wind as I dug in the cool earth. All in all, It was a lazy day.

It was relaxing to spend a quiet day sleeping in late and catching up on chores. We were usually at the bar by this time in the afternoon, but Sam and I had decided to take one Saturday a month to both be home for an evening together. Our newly hired Saturday manager helped out quite a bit with that, and though it cost us a little more, I think we were both happy to throw Terry the work once a week. He'd gotten a lot better handling the crowds and the noise and I know it did him good. I'd seen him holding his head higher and felt proud to do a good turn.

Of course, Terry still had his bad days.

"Hey Darlin'," Sam called from the porch over to where I was weeding our broccoli patch. "Terry's having a hard time tonight. I guess there's a family reunion passing through and they're jam packed. He called to see if I could go in and lend a hand during dinner rush."

I remember I dusted off my hands, pulled back my sun hat and walked over to Sam's truck to meet him as he came down. He was smiling at me, a warm and happy smile. He'd been so happy, and his happiness had made me happy too.

"You look good cher," Sam had said. He'd leaned over and kissed me. It had been soft, with just a small swipe of his tongue across mine. I'd smiled back at him rested my head on his shoulder, our arms wrapped around one another. It was a comfortable moment, in the arms of a man I knew well and trusted. And then I pulled away.

"See you tonight," I'd said, pushing his door shut for him as he'd slid into the truck. He'd waved and I'd waved back. Then Sam Merlotte drove down my driveway, onto Hummingbird Lane and out of my life.

The dusk of a hot, Northern Louisiana day is a wonderful thing when it rolls in. I'd been wearing small cut-offs and a floral tank top to garden, but after I'd made myself dinner it was chilly enough to slip on an old tee shirt over the top. I'd eaten my supper on the steps of the front porch, wiggling my toes in the grass as I watched the sky fade from a brilliant blue to warm tones of pink and purple. The crickets were out, chirping away and the warm breeze was still at it. I felt it sway by and lifted my pony tail just slightly.

I thought about the evenings Gran and I used to sit out, watching the same sky darken at nightfall. She was such a good woman, filled with love and joy for everyone she met. Of course, she'd had her secrets. But then, didn't we all? My earlier visions of sons with broad builds and daughters with long, golden hair came to mind. But then, I figured, nobody's heart is so full it can't hold more love. I'd loved Eric, even if our relationship had ended badly. And I loved Sam. It was a different kind of love, sure, but I doubted anyone could really love two people in exactly the same way. I knew Gran had loved her husband, and my fae grandfather both. Some days, usually once a month or so, I'd walk some flowers down to her grave and catch up. I knew she wasn't really there, but just being in the place so many of my family were buried seemed to make me feel closer to them, to her.

The urge to see my Gran was powerful in me, then. I remembered it had been a time since I last headed down to the cemetery, and the light was still good enough I could make it there before full dark. The moon wasn't quite full tonight, but it was closing in so I reckoned I'd be fine walking home too.

Looking back, it should have realized it was odd that I'd just taken off like that. No gathering of wild flowers for the grave, no changing from my sandals to a pair of sneakers. I just got it in my head to go and see Gran and so off I went without a care in the world.

I'd rounded the path that led down through the trees to the cemetery before I knew something was wrong. A void was moving rapidly toward me and suddenly, it was like someone had drenched me in a bucket of cold water. I turned and ran, legs and arms pumping wildly. If I could just make it back to my property the protection spells would kick in. I remember it was pure instinct. I didn't turn and greet the vampire, I didn't think to realize that they could move much faster than I ever had a chance to. But whoever this vampire was, he was sure taking his time, following me at what I'm sure was a leisurely pace. The branches were whipping at my face, cutting into my arms as I raced through them, my legs burning. It was a miracle I didn't fall. My heart was beating a million miles a minute and then, just when I thought my lungs would give out and my legs might falter, I bust through the tree line and saw the house.

Just like that I was yanked backward, spinning around and thrown to the ground. The impact was as good as a punch to the gut, I was winded and shocked. My legs wouldn't work and I weezed, struggling to catch any breath. My walk down to the cemetery and flight from it were a blur at this point, but I will never forget how time stopped when I saw _her_. Standing over me, illuminated in yellow of the security light gleaming from my front porch, stood one of the tallest, loveliest, and most vicious looking vampires I'd ever seen. She had a draping sort of dress on, white, with an empire wast and capped sleeves. Her long, golden hair piled up atop a band of purple and gold cloth, like a headband. A Fillet, my mind supplied somehow.

It's funny what pops into your mind in times like these.

This woman's face was full of joy. She looked like the cat that had just caught the canary. I think that's when I knew for sure. Though I'm sure my heart was hammering away, I felt sort of calm, a weird thing in this circumstance. Maybe I had learned to handle high stress situations better. Maybe I had gotten too comfortable in my normal life. Maybe I just knew I wouldn't be getting out of this one.

The mystery vampire smirked down at me and her fangs snicked out. Neither of us said a thing. Our eyes met, blue on blue, and I felt myself slide into her mind for just an instant.

And then there was only darkness.


End file.
